UK girl's name
Rheia
A feminine name of Greek origin associated with the Mother of the Gods.
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Rheia is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Rheia popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #4843, with 4 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2013, with 5 births.
This profile covers 31 England and Wales registrations across 8 recorded years from 2002 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 80% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 37 living people in the UK are called Rheia. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Rheia ranked #4843 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 4 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2013, when 5 girls were registered as Rheia.
- • Rheia ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #760 in 2022.
- • About 37 living people in the UK are estimated to have Rheia as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#4843
2024
Births in 2024
4
Latest year
Peak year
2013
5 births
Estimated living
37
2026
Meaning
What does Rheia mean?
The given name Rheia has its origins in ancient Greek mythology. It is derived from the Greek word "rheo", which means "to flow" or "to stream". This name was borne by the Titan goddess Rheia, who was the mother of the Olympian gods and goddesses in Greek mythology.
Rheia was the daughter of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaia (Earth), and the wife of Cronus (Time). According to Greek mythology, Cronus swallowed his children as soon as they were born, fearing that one of them would overthrow him. However, when Rheia gave birth to Zeus, she tricked Cronus by giving him a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes instead of the infant Zeus.
The name Rheia appears in various Greek texts and literary works, including Hesiod's Theogony and Homeric Hymns. It is also mentioned in Ovid's Metamorphoses and Virgil's Aeneid. The earliest recorded use of the name dates back to ancient Greek times, and it was primarily used in Greece and other regions influenced by Greek culture.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Rheia. One of the earliest was Rheia Silvia (c. 8th century BC), a vestal virgin in Roman mythology who was the mother of the legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus.
Another notable Rheia was Rheia of Caria (c. 4th century BC), a Carian princess who married Diodorus, the satrap (governor) of Caria under Alexander the Great. She played a significant role in the power struggles that followed Alexander's death.
In the Byzantine Empire, Rheia Porphyrogenita (c. 1025-1091) was a princess and daughter of Emperor Constantine VIII. She is known for her involvement in the struggle for the Byzantine throne during the late 11th century.
During the Renaissance period, Rheia Gozzadini (c. 1553-1628) was an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts. She was known for her patronage of artists and her influential role in the cultural life of Bologna.
More recently, Rheia Silvia Vitale (1944-2019) was an Italian politician and educator who served as a member of the Italian Senate from 1992 to 2018, representing the center-left Democratic Party.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Rheia over time
The chart below shows babies named Rheia registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 2002 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Rheia, the clearest high point is 2013. The latest England and Wales figure is 4 births in 2024, compared with 5 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rheia by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Rheia was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #5115 | 18 | 5 |
| 2010s | #4444 | 9 | 2 |
| 2000s | #3409 | 4 | 1 |
Geography
Where Rheia is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Rheia. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Rheia ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #760 in 2022.
Across the UK
Rheia in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#760 in 2022
2 years of NRS records, 6 total registered
Related
Names similar to Rheia
- Ruby 60,551
- Rebecca 45,764
- Rosie 35,558
- Rachel 19,034
- Rose 18,043
- Robyn 14,556
- Rosa 6,236
- Rhiannon 6,180
- Rachael 4,702
- Rebekah 4,395
- Rhianna 4,177
- Ruth 4,118
FAQ
Rheia: questions and answers
How popular is the name Rheia in the UK right now?
In 2024, Rheia was ranked #4843 for girls in England and Wales, with 4 births registered.
When was Rheia most popular?
The peak year on record was 2013, with 5 babies registered as Rheia in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Rheia?
A feminine name of Greek origin associated with the Mother of the Gods.
How many people are called Rheia in the UK?
A total of 31 babies have been registered as Rheia across the 8 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 6 more in Scotland.
Where is Rheia most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Rheia ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #760 in 2022. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.